Falling for a Prince
by ToniJohnston
Summary: Ariana has been misunderstood all her life, always trying to prove herself worthy, will Thorin finally accept her as she is? Will he allow her forbidden love to become something new? Something that may change the ways of the dwarves. Or will he leave her to die?
1. Chapter 1

**- Little explanation, the italics are Fili's POV, sorry if it's terrible, I've never done this before. (also, I don't own anyone in this story except Ariana)**

I approach the hobbit hole, with the slightest hesitation. Will Thorin allow me to join the company? He never had really approved of me, I will just blame Gandalf if things take a turn for the worse.

5 years earlier – "Climb that one!" Kili encouraged with a grin.

"Are you mad? That tree is much too frail." I exclaim peering up at a tree that had to be a hundred feet tall.

"Oh, I see, well if your too scared.."

I glare at Kili, and then glance at the old, almost bare tree that seemed to touch the clouds.

It would be a good vantage point, I imagine I could see the whole land from the top, perfect hiding place and I could practice my marksmanship from this height.

"Hold this," I unbuckle my sword belt and shove it into Kili's chest as I stride past him.

"Ariana you don't have to do that, don't let him bait you." Fili grabs my arm as I walk past him toward the tree, his face straight, but I can see his eyes full of concern.

"You boy's have no faith in me, I'm a big girl, tie my own shoelaces and everything." I smile at Fili and brush past him flipping my long, curly hair over my shoulder.

_I noticed how close to blonde her brown her hair was when the sun hit it, I smell the sweet soap she must use on it when she brushes past me, I need to get it together._

I stand at the bottom of the enormous tree and peer up, trying to work out a plan on how I am going to reach the top without grabbing the wrong branch, the whole tree looked like it was riddled with termites.

I close my eyes and breathe in deeply, I can feel the lightest breeze pushing my hair out of my face, I can smell the stream nearby, the freshness of the clear water, I can hear the birds high above, singing out to me

Starting my climb is easy enough, I can hear Fili chastising Kili for suggesting something so foolish, sometimes I wish he would share more of his younger brothers juvenile antics.

The higher I climb the thinner the branches get, the rational part of me is telling me I should stop here, but the competitive part of me is louder and wants to prove Kili wrong.

"Ariana, come down now. You've proved your point, you're already past half way up!" Fili shouts at me.

"No! You have to go to the top, that's the deal!" Kili argues, Fili shoves him half playfully half frustrated.

I look down and realize I have come much farther than I expected, what would be the point in turning around now?

Kili would never let me forget it if I turned around now, he believes me to be frightened, he has spent most the day searching for daring things for me to do to prove myself worthy.

No, I will not stop now.

As I get higher and higher the birds get louder, and the air fresher, I love to climb trees, and I am good at it.

My mother used to make me climb trees when I was younger, "It builds muscle and character." She would say.

I can feel the branches swaying under my weight and the wind, they are definitely getting weaker the higher I climb, I'm only about 30 feet from the top!

I hear a sickening crack beneath my feet and before I have time to jump the branch gives way.

I hear a scream before realizing its my own.

Twigs claw out at my face as I plummet toward the earth, none of the branches are strong enough to stop my fall, I'm being battered by the larger branches as I frantically reach out for a strong branch to stop myself falling. The the wind get's knocked out of me by a branch hitting my ribs, with another sickening crack I scream out in agony and see black spots dart across my vision.

Clawing out, I try to find anything to grab hold of, with no luck. A few more large branches give me the opportunity to slow myself before making contact with the ground below, I fear the worst, of all the fighting I have done in my life, all the foul creatures I have come across, and a tree will be my undoing.

My head connects with something hard and I see spots again, but this time they do not go away, the last thing I remember is hearing Fili frantically yelling for me, then I feel myself land with a thud.

The first thing I notice is his smell, then the warmth of his breath tickling my face, and the security of his arms around me, how could one persons arms make me feel like nothing bad could ever happen to me?

"Run ahead, tell Uncle what happened!" Fili shouts to Kili.

The noise startles me and I jump, and then let out a moan from the pain spreading across my body.

"Shh, its okay, your okay," he hushes to me soothingly, but I notice that he is panting and can't imagine why, why is he holding me? Why does it feel like he is running? Why do I hurt so much?

I open my eyes and see a blur of trees and a darkening sky, the sight is making me feel dizzy and I'm afraid I might be sick.

Glancing up at Fili I try to concentrate on his face, I notice a line has appeared on his forehead, I have seen it before when he would watch Kili do something dangerous or foolish, a worry line.

My heart beats faster with excitement, is he worried for me? But realizing that if he is worried then I probably should be too, I begin to feel sick again.

"Its okay, we're almost there, you'll be okay."

I'm not sure if he is trying to convince himself or me.

We arrive at a familiar house not long after, and I hear Kili's worried voice replaying what happened, a low gruff voice argues with him in response. I know that voice... but can't place it, I still feel dizzy and am relived when Fili places me on a cleared off table for the stability, but cant deny that I am a little saddened to not have his warm arms around me.

A face appears above me, dark hair curtained around his face, I recognized Thorin, and grimace, it's one thing for Kili to think of me as weak, but for Thorin to see me as weak is torture, the king already was not fond overly fond of me, I have been trying to gain his approval for years.

He looks me over to check my wounds, and his eyes widen when he comes to my stomach.

Curiosity get's the better of me and I look down, only to be greeted by a branch about 6 inches long and 1 inch in diameter sticking out of my stomach just above my hip.

"Oh that is perfect, just goddamned perfect." I growl through gritted teeth, it hurts to speak but there are really no other ways to react, although passing out seems like a nice opportunity right now.

I close my eyes in an attempt relax. Ignore the pain, I've been through worse.

Why, why out of all the Elven traits I inherited from my mother, self-healing isn't one of them?

I can hear Thorin, Fili and Kili muttering across the room about what to do with me, I did inherit the super-elven hearing, but I don't really want to know what is being said.

Blocking every thing out, I glare at the ceiling. My head is throbbing, and every noise seems to send pain shooting through my skull.

My stomach doesn't hurt so much when I lay still, but it does make breathing extremely uncomfortable.

Fili approaches me slowly and explains that Thorin is going to remove the stick so that they can bandage it.

Thorin stands to my left and peers down at me with an apologetic look, Fili is on my right watching anxiously.

"Are you ready?" Thorin asks.

Gritting my teeth I nod.

Thorin nods to Fili who pulls a flask of some sort of alcohol from the bench and unscrews the cap to pour on my wound, but before he can I decide I need some courage, so I grab it from his hand and take a swig, then pass it back.

Fili smirks slightly then grimaces going back to his task.

I feel a cool splash on my stomach then a searing pain, I arched my back and scream just as Thorin pulls the stick from my stomach and Fili holds me down, dots appeared in my vision once again and I let myself be dragged into unconsciousness.

I awake to the sound of arguing, "You can't take care of one girl, how do you expect to be a king to your people?" a sharp voice hissed.

"I didn't even know she had arrived! She is your daughter, not my responsibility." Thorin growls.

I hear the sharp voice offer insult to the king in Elvish

and I decide it is time to stop the nonsense, I moaned loudly as I try to sit up.

Fili and Kili are sitting by my side looking guilty, until they see me awake and relief floods their faces.

"Ariana! Finally your awake, we need to leave, now." The sharp voice hisses, I look over to see my mother towering over the table, the woman clears 6ft, looking oddly out of place in the presence of dwarves.

"But mother, I just got here.. And I'm okay now, couldn't I stay a little longer? I hardly get to spend time with any of Da's kin." I whine.

"That is because your father is dead, Dwarves die, they are foolish folk and clearly not a good influence on you, if you stay with them any longer I can guarantee they'll get you killed too." She hisses back in Elvish.

Thorin looks like he is ready to start shouting again so I reluctantly follow my mother in the hope that too much damage hasn't been done already.

_I want to follow her, I step forward to say something to her, anything. But Thorin grabs my arm and shakes his head, I look back to her in despair, willing for her to come back._

I shake my head, trying to rid myself of the memory, the last time I saw Thorin, Kili and Fili.

I regret the way things were left, I was not able to say goodbye to my friends, all I could do was glance back at them as my mother dragged me out of their house, and their lives.


	2. Chapter 2

I realized I'd been standing outside the green door for long enough, and knock loudly.

The hobbit I can only presume is Bilbo Baggins answers the door, and looks utterly confused and a good deal frustrated.  
"Ariana, at your service." I give a slight bow.

"No, no, no I think you've got the wrong house." The hobbit insists, trying to close the door.

I dodge inside before he can, and instantly see a familiar face at the end of the hall.

"Wait, no, your at the wrong-"

"Balin!" I grin at the white haired dwarf.

"Ariana? Is that you? What are you- Oh?" Balin raises his bushy eyebrows as he realizes why I am here.

"You didn't think I'd miss THIS did you?"

"Does Thorin know your joining us?"

"Not quite.. I'm not sure he'll let me. I just came in the hope that he'll be smart enough to realize he could use my help."

Balin just smiles and pats me on the shoulder.

I hear a commotion at the front door and decide its best to avoid the annoyed hobbit, he's yelling at someone to stop wiping their feet on his mother's jewellery box, I smile to myself, the luxuries of worrying about such small things.

I help myself to some beer and lean against the wall watching the commotion, I nod hello to Dwalin as he passes me carrying some chairs, I cant wait to sit down and finally put my feet up, it took me a long time to arrive to the Shire.

I hear a familiar laugh and hold my breath... They can't be here already can they? I'd only just got here myself... I needed a moment to regain my thoughts, I decide to head to the front door to get some fresh air. As soon as I turn the corner to the hallway I bump into someone spilling my drink and stumbling backward but someone catches my arm before I make contact with the floor.

"Ariana?" He gasped.

I reluctantly peer up and see those familiar blue eyes, the familiar blonde hair, and those braids in his beard.

He looks broader than I remember, I feel so small standing next to him.

"Fili." I breathe.

"I see you still haven't found your balance since we last saw you." Kili appeared next to his brother smirking at me.

I try my best to glare at him, but his smile is so damned addictive that I end up laughing a little hysterically at him.

Fili still looks stunned but soon snaps out of it when there is a loud crash at the front door, we go to investigate and see 8 dwarves in a bundle on the floor in front of a flustered Bilbo and Gandalf standing behind them ducking his head to look inside.

As everyone piles inside I see some familiar faces and greet them accordingly, then we make our way to where Dwalin was taking the chairs, and everyone soon starts eating, drinking and laughing. I join in the reunion and sit with Kili and Fili, things have returned to normal with Kili, but I still feel some tension when I look at Fili and find him to be watching me with a strange look that I cant place.

The night progresses on with some singing and throwing of dishes, I sit and watch the spectacle in delight, it is so much more relaxing to be around dwarves than elves.

My delight soon turns into anxiety when Thorin joins us, he seems to ignore my presence while he eats and confirms what the journey is about, and making poor Bilbo faint while reading his burglary contract, while Gandalf tries to awaken the hobbit, Thorin finally turned to me and told me to follow him.

He walk's down the hallway and out the front door, I glance back at Kili and Fili who are watching us with apprehension and I follow closing the door behind me.

Thorin sits on a small bench near the front gate, looking up at the stars, I sit beside him silently and place my hands in my lap.

"I do not want you to come with us," He finally says after what seems like an eternity.

I can feel my composure cracking already.

What do I say to that? How can I convince him I will be useful? That I wont slow them down?

He has the final word, he is to be King, and whatever he says goes. What will I do if he sends me away? Would I leave? Or would I follow, hiding in the shadows, watching their backs?

"Gandalf has advised me that it would not be wise to send you away. I do not wish for you to come, I wish only the best for my kin, and you are not it."

"Thorin... I know why you do not like me, but I can't help that, I cannot change where I came from, I just-"

"Enough! The only reason I am even considering your help is because I promised your father I would watch over you, at the time I didn't realize how difficult that would be." Thorin sighs in frustration and stand up abruptly, I jump at his sudden movement.

He glares at my shock, "You are scared of me. How do you expect to go up against orcs and the other foul creatures we may come up against? You're just a small girl!

I will not have Fili and Kili risking their lives jumping in front of you in battle because you are scared and cowering in the corner! You are not a fighter." He shouts.

"I am a fighter and you know that! I can take care of myself! I will prove it. Please let me prove it, Thorin please. I have changed since you last saw me, I am better, I have been training. You know who my father was, he fought along side you many times, I have his talent, and my mothers, yes okay she is an elf and you have your reason not to like them, but she wasn't any where near Erebor when Smaug attacked... she could not help, you cannot hold her responsible, I have inherited the best traits from both sides, I am fast like an elf and strong like a dwarf! You know this, don't waste this opportunity, I want to help." I can feel my cheeks getting hot and my eyes filling with water, I look up at the sky and try to calm myself, I cant cry in front of the man I'm trying to convince that I'm strong.

He sits back down next to me and we stay silent just watching the stars.

"You may come," he pauses "but, one wrong move, and your out. Understood?"

"Understood. Thankyou Thorin." A weight had been lifted off me in that moment, I sigh in relief.

"When you have composed yourself come inside" He stands and walks back inside and I am left alone with my thoughts.

I tip my head back and smile at the stars, the cool breeze ruffles my hair. Even though I am calm now, I stay on the bench admiring the view, it may be the last moment of peace I get in a long time.

I hear Bilbo's door open and a pair of heavy feet walking down the path toward the bench I'm sitting on, I fear for a moment that it is Thorin coming back to tell me he has changed his mind.

"He didn't tell us anything, no one wanted to ask, we fear that he told you that you can't come because we heard yelling and you haven't come back inside," Fili pauses.

"I thought you were going to leave again with out saying good bye." He whispers.

My heart skips a beat and I cant help but smile a little.

"I would have said good bye, I wanted to say it last time... but I couldn't, she wouldn't let me… it killed me to have to walk away from you." I admit.

"It killed me too." There was a catch in his voice as he spoke, I glance over at him only to find him already watching me.

"I'm coming with you." I whisper as I lean my head against his shoulder.

I feel his shoulder rise and fall as he sighs.

_Relief floods me when she tells me she's coming with us, will I finally be able to act on those damned feelings I've had for her since the moment I met her? She asked to join Kili and I when we were play fighting with wooden swords, Kili had teased her because she was wearing a dress calling her Princess, Thorin had yelled at Kili to be nice to her, but her father told him not to worry about her, she could handle herself, she then picked up a stick and jumped at Kili disarming him almost instantly, pushed him backwards and stood over him saying "Who's the princess now?" after watching that brave little girl, I knew she was the one._

I don't want to move, but I don't want to piss off Thorin so after a few minutes I stand up, smile at Fili, tilt my head in the direction of the door and walk towards it, I hear him follow and I smile to myself.


	3. Chapter 3

Our journey begins as any other would, Master Baggins decides to come with us and things between Thorin and myself are less tense, although I still worry that he will make me leave at a moments notice.

Kili has resumed his role of trying to bait me into doing something stupid, and every time I am tempted to accept his challenges I remember what Thorin said, then I feel like pushing Kili off his pony. That boy is going to get me thrown off this quest.

We make camp at a run down farm, Fili and Kili are assigned to watch the ponies, so I decide to help make dinner.

"So little Miss, where have you been hiding?" Bofur asks as he joins in cutting carrots.

"Ah, here, there and everywhere." I smile at him, I've always respected Bofur, and he would always tell me the truth, in his own strange way.

"Fine, fine, keep your secrets, I'll keep my own secrets then." He hints cheekily.

"You don't have any secrets, you're an open book," I laugh.

"Ah my dear, they are not my secrets, I know someone else's secrets that involve you."

"You lie…"

"Do I?" He smiles and tips his hat at me and walks away leaving me alone.

"Damn you, what do you mean?" I mutter, "Damn dwarves... secretive little shi-"

"Thorin!" Kili comes running from the woods where the ponies are.

"What is it?" Thorin demands

"Its Bilbo, there were mountain trolls, they took the ponies, and Bilbo went to free them, but he's been caught!" Fili explains 

As we make our way down to the trolls I hear the them asking if they can eat Bilbo, Kili charges in and demands for the trolls to drop him the rest of the dwarves and myself follow and attack.

Only to be stopped when Bilbo gets captured and we lay down our weapons in an attempt to stop the trolls ripping Bilbo apart.

"Great, bagged, tagged and ready to be cooked." I mutter

"Mmmm, I bet this one is spicy!" Says one of the trolls, as he picks me up from my feet.

"Ahh, no, put me down!" I squeal.

Bilbo jumps to his feet just before the troll puts me in its filthy mouth and tells it that I have worms!

I promptly get thrown back down with the others and land in between Kili and Fili, I hear them grunt from the impact and try not to take offence.

Gandalf appears right on time to defeat the trolls with the rising sun.

"Are you guys alright? Sorry if I hurt you…" I say to Kili and Fili

"Hurt us? HA! Sorry to tell you but your tiny, you couldn't hurt us even if you tried." Kili mocked, I gave him a quick jab to the shoulder and saw his face wince for a split second before he regained his composure, "See? Didn't feel a thing," he laughs as he walks away rubbing his arm.

"Liar." I mutter as I rub my knuckles, his arm was harder than I expected.

Fili laughs at me and I lightly shove him "Shut it, you."

He pulls some twigs out of my hair and his hand lingers at my cheek, I freeze and stare at him embracing the moment, waiting for him to make something of it.

He abruptly pulls away, his cheeks redden and he turns away to follow the rest of the dwarves. 

_Touching her face was an accident, I only meant to help, but when I saw those big beautiful eyes staring back at me I almost couldn't stop myself from kissing her. I can't do that, not yet.. because I know when I do, I won't want to stop. _

I stand there not sure what to feel, did his lingering touch mean anything? Him suddenly walking away like I'd shocked him definitely meant something, something that cant be good…

I follow a little dazed and Bofur walks beside me "So, have you figured out my secret yet?"

"Ugh, why are you torturing me?"

"Torturing you? I'm trying to help you."  
I roll my eyes "All your doing is confusing me, just tell me your secret."

"Nope, you're a smart girl, I want you to figure it out on your own."

"Fine, go away, I don't want to know anyway."

Bofur chuckles and follows the dwarves into the cave, it smells horrible in there so I decide to stand watch outside with a few of the others.

It was really bugging me, why was he playing games with my mind? Why cant these damned dwarves just say what's on their minds. Bofur walked past me later that day and pasted a sickly sweet smile on his face and wiggles his eyebrows at me so I glare back.

He knows how much this is getting to me, and he's loving it!

As we make camp later that night I decide I've had enough of dwarves and I go and sit on a ledge that has about a 3 foot drop to the grassy ground below.

It's a clear night so I can see everything around me, the tree's are swaying in the breeze, the leaves rustling, brushing up against each other trying to communicate.

I'd been sitting for a while now when I hear a twig snap behind me, I jump up and draw my sword only to see Fili take a step back with his hands up as a peace gesture, my heart is beating wildly in my chest, not only because he startled me.

A million thoughts go through my head as of why he is here, did the others need help with something? Was I so distracted that I didn't hear an attack? No, I can still hear them laughing and telling stories, I can still see the campfire… so what is he doing?

_In that moment she looked like a goddess, powerful and beautiful at the same time, the way her body was tensed, ready for an attack, the way the moonlight made her skin glow._

"Ariana? You, uh, you wanna put your sword away?" he asks hands still up.

"Oh, yeah sorry… You scared me" I sheath my sword and can feel my cheeks getting hot. "Since when are you quiet?"

"Well it has been a while since you've seen me... things changed I guess."

"I guess so… I used to be able to read you like a book" I mutter.

He raises his eyebrows questioningly, when I don't answer he walks up to me and stands at the edge of the ledge and looks out at nothing in particular.

I glance back at the camp they all seem pretty distracted. I turn back around and accidently brush my arm against Fili's, I didn't realize he was so close.

I shiver and rub my arm, its warm where I touched him but the rest of my body seems like ice in comparison.

Fili suddenly takes off his coat and drapes it over my shoulders, its still warm and has an intoxicating smell, I take a deep breath in and sigh.

"Thankyou, but wont you be cold?"  
"Nah, looks like I've got a few more layers on that you do." Fili regarded me from head to toe, and there was something in his gaze… something that seemed like more than just an objective assessment. I then became painfully aware of how I looked, I know I have nice hair, its long, reaching the bottom of my back in delicate thick curls, I have the typical ice blue eyes a trait from the elves, the thin frame of an elf, but curves in all the right places from the dwarves I suppose, I am shorted than Fili, my father was short for a dwarf, and thankfully no facial hair! But are those all the things that Fili likes?

I feel my cheeks getting hot again as I think about it praying that he doesn't notice.

Suddenly I notice that we're so close together that I can feel his breath tickle my face, I can feel the warmth radiating from his body, I have to tilt my head back slightly to make eye contact, as he tilts his head to the side I feel his fingers brush up against my own, I part my lips and feel a rumbling beneath my feet confused and annoyed at the distraction, I look down just as the ledge were standing on collapses.


	4. Chapter 4

I yelp as we end up a pile of twisted limbs and dirt, after realizing what happened we start to laugh, and then I become aware that Fili is on top of me, his elbows on either side of me holding his weight, but not fully, I can feel his body against mine, and only then do I realize how muscular his frame is, I feel tiny under his broad chest and bulking arms, but totally and utterly safe. 

He lightly brushes away some dirt off my face, and his fingers linger yet again against my cheek, all I can do is lay there frozen, one hand placed against his chest, and the other above my head. 

I can see him inching closer, the anticipation is killing me, I look at his lips and see them curled up ever so slightly at the corners, with that adorable little smile and his eyes searching mine, I melt. 

My lips meet his is a soft sweet embrace, my free hand above my head goes to his neck as my body feels like its exploding with joy, his warm full lips explore my own, then it turns more urgent as if he's afraid this is the last time our lips will ever meet, nothing else matters in the world now, its just me and him. He is all I need, the perfect moment, with the perfect- 

"Ariana? Fili?" Someone calls from nearby. 

We both jump at the noise as if someone has thrown water on us, Fili sighs and plants one last sweet kiss on my lips before standing up, leaving me feeling like I'd lost a limb, shocked and cold and alone, how could such a perfect moment have such an abrupt stop? 

"Bofur, what's the matter?" Fili asks, frustration dripping from his voice. 

"Ah, there you are, Thorin sent me to find you and Ariana… Uh, is she with you down there?" I can practically hear the smile in his voice. 

I start to sit up and Fili holds out his hand to me, as soon as I'm standing he walks behind me and lifts me on top of the crumbled ledge we were standing on not long ago, I let out a little squeal of surprise and laugh, regaining my balance Fili swiftly climbs out and the three of us are standing there, Fili not looking too comfortable or happy about the situation, and Bofur practically beaming at us. 

Bofur clears his voice "So, uh, I think Thorin wanted a word, Fili" 

Fili looked at me, and reluctantly turned away and headed toward the camp. 

_I finally get the moment I've been dreaming of for years, the perfect, awkward yet adorable moment, only to have it ripped away from me. I want to stay with her all night. Thorin had better have a damned good reason for ruining that moment._

I stood there stunned for a moment, before turning to Bofur. 

"Well your practically glowing little miss!" he teased. 

I gave him a playful shove and started walking back to camp, I felt like I was glowing, my insides felt like they were bubbling away and I could barely contain myself. 

"So I see you've figured out my secret." 

"Huh?" I couldn't stop thinking about that kiss, and that body. 

"My secret? Well not my secret, someone else's secret that I knew, the one that you wanted so desperately to know but couldn't figure-" 

"Bofur, what are you babbling about?" 

"Fili and you. Fili's feelings for you. The forbidden love and all that." He wiggles his eyebrows at me. 

"Forbidden lo-" I trail off as the words hit me. 

"Wait... What are you talking about?" 

"Well he's the prince, first nephew of Thorin…" 

"The prince…" I felt like I just walked into a cloud, my brain was working at an infuriatingly slow rate. 

"Yes the prince, keep up, which means he's next in line for the throne. He's to be king!" Bofur seemed very excited by this, which means it's a good thing, right? Fili will someday make a wonderful King, I know that, but that would mean whatever that kiss was, will mean nothing in the near and far future, I can never be with him, Thorin will never allow it, he will never allow my elvish blood to taint his bloodline. 

My world seemed to crash down around me, I felt like I could fly just 5 minutes ago, and now? Now I feel like crawling up into a ball and crying. Why did I do this? Why did I allow myself to fall for him? 

No, I haven't fallen, its just some little feelings, he doesn't care, it was just a kiss, meant nothing more than we're two lonely people, it doesn't mean that he could ever love me, does it? 

I didn't see Fili much that night, Thorin had him on first watch and I was on right after him, and by first light we were on the road again I trailed behind slightly cursing at myself for being so foolish last night, it wont happen again, Thorin would have you kicked off this quest if he ever found out. I can't risk that.


	5. Chapter 5

In my distractions I didn't even hear or see the orc pack that ambushed us, didn't have time to react before I was jumped on, the damned thing was leaning over the top of me trying to bite my face, I screamed and shoved its shoulders back, its teeth were inches away from my face when suddenly an arrow shot straight through the top of its head and poked out of the bottom of its jaw, shocked by the dead weight I couldn't push it off, I felt the warm black blood drip down my chest and neck, then it was gone, Kili appeared above me his bow at the ready he shoved the dead orc to the side and reached for my hand to help me up.

"My hero." I laugh to him as I pull out my sword.

"Always coming to your rescue." He smiled back.

His eyes widen and he secures an arrow within seconds and lets it fly past my face to something behind me, I smile again and pat his shoulder as I run past him to help the others.

There seem to be an infinite amount, they just keep coming, our poor little burglar seems a little flustered so I make my way over to him.

"Having fun?" I grunt as I behead an orc.

"This is what you call fun?" He pants.

"Well sure, there's not much else to do around here, is there?"

"I heard you and Fili did something fun last night." He laughs.

I froze, Fili… I look around and see him only a few metres away. I throw a knife at an orc sneaking up behind him just as he turns around He smiles thankfully. I just stare, frozen, I had put him out of my mind during the fight, but now he's right in front of me, I start to walk toward him, he's looking at me questioningly when I feel a sharp pain hit me in the shoulder and pushes me back, I cry out and stumble falling on my back from the force.

_I see a small smile at her lips as she approaches me, then shock and pain shoot through her face when an arrow finds its mark in her shoulder, I freeze, I can't believe what I just saw... I freeze. I don't run to help her, by the time I snap out of it Kili is already standing over her protecting her from anything else that may come her way, I see a fierce expression on his face, as the orcs close in, I have to help them._

I hear Fili yell out to me but see Kili first "You didn't come to my rescue." I cough.

"I'm here now, I got the sneaky bastard who got you, don't worry." He smiles at me apologetically.

I try to get up but he just pushes me back down, he crouches over me protectively letting loose an arrow every minute or so, it seems the enemies numbers are thinning.

I let my head fall to the side and I see Bilbo and the dwarves making a protective circle around me, I feel dazed as I look around at them, soon enough they turn around and face me "How is it, that I'm the only one that got shot?" I mumble.

"Seems to me like you were distracted" Bofur suggests, I shoot him a look before Fili comes and crouches beside me, Oin comes and inspects my shoulder muttering to himself.

"I can mix up some ointment for you to avoid infection, but I'll have to pull the arrow out first." He informs me.

"Do what you need to do."

I look up at Thorin "I'm sorry for slowing us down, I'll be fine to keep going as soon as this damned thing is out of me."

Thorin shakes his head "We were going to make camp soon anyway, Kili and fi- Bilbo, go find a safe place nearby, and make sure there are no more orcs waiting for nightfall."

"Lucky for you Oin is here, he's better at pulling sticks out of people than I am " he adds.

I laugh and wince at the pain it causes.

"Don't suppose we have anything I can drink again huh?"

Thorin pulls out a flask from his pocket and hands it to me I smile thanks to him.

As I lay there I pondered why Thorin didn't send Fili with Kili, there was definitely hesitation when he said Bilbo's name. Fili sat by my side while Oin decided the best way to pull the arrow, Bofur took the flask and unscrewed the lid for me, I took a long drink even though it burned my throat, and passed it back. Fili then took my empty hand in his and held on tight.

"You have blood all over you." He observed.

I look down and see the black splatter from the orc all over my shirt and my own fresh blood seeping down my chest.

"Yuck. I don't have anything else to wear… I'll just have to deal with it." Fili frowns at that, I sigh "Ow."

"Okay the arrow is just under your collar bone, it should come out fairly easily." Oin looks at me expectantly.

"Okay," I take a deep breath "Do it."

"On the count of three," He readies himself, holding the arrow with one hand and the other holding my shoulder in place.

"One," He pauses and looks at me, then rips it out.

I scream, then grit my teeth and growl "What the hell happened to two and three?!"

"Sorry, the suspense would've hurt more." Oin admits as he starts cleaning the wound.

I close my eyes and clench my jaw to stop from crying out, Fili wipes away a tear that had escaped and I'm thankful that he's here.

I stay laying on the ground until Kili and Bilbo return saying they've found a safe place to camp tonight, and that its near a stream so I can somehow wash my clothes from this filthy orc blood.

"How you feeling princess?" Kili asks with a cheeky grin on his face, until he sees Fili's hand holding my own, and his face goes straight, completely straight.

"Don't call me that Kili, it wasn't funny when we were younger and its not now." I snap back.

"Oh please. You love it, I remember you used to sit there giggling your head off when you were little, you're like a little princess always needing taking care of." That smile returns, but it doesn't meet his eyes.

"I was humouring you when we were little, you're a grown boy now you can handle the truth."

"Alright you two, that's enough" Thorin snaps as he walks past, "Talking about when you were children, you still are." He mutters.

"Stop baiting her Kili, I'm afraid one day she'll actually punch you, and you will cry." Fili laughs as he helps me to stand up.

"She's tiny, she can't hurt me, can you princess?"

I glare at him and take my best swing, with the arm that I got shot in, bad idea. I cry out in pain and drop to the ground holding my shoulder as Kili stands there shocked Fili crouches down and puts his arm around me "Are you okay? You shouldn't let him get to you. Damn it Kili, why must you push her? " Fili asks angrily.

"I didn't mean to hurt her, I was just playing… Arna, I'm sorry."

I try to stand on my own, but I feel the tears welling up again, it feels like I tore the wound open, I hunch over with Fili's arm around me supporting me.

"Its fine Kili, relax. I'll get you back when you least expect it." I try to joke but he just smiles at me sadly.

When we arrive at the camp I have no energy left, my shoulder is throbbing and I can see fresh blood seeping through the bandage.

Oin sighs as he applies some ointment and re-bandages it. As I try to sit as still as I can I replay what Kili had said to me, he called me Arna, he hasn't called me that since we were children, I used to adore it. And why the change of mood when he looked at Fili and I holding hands? Did he not approve? When we were younger we all used to hold hands, when we were running or playing, he never seemed to mind then… maybe Thorin's hate towards Elves has rubbed off on his nephew while I've been away.

The thought saddens me and I didn't even notice when Oin finished and had walked away, I was alone with my thoughts.


	6. Chapter 6

I notice my shirt has begun to smell from the orc blood so I decide its time to find that river Kili was talking about, I cant fine Kili to ask him but Bilbo points me in the right direction and offers to come with me but I politely decline, I'd prefer not take my clothes of in front of him.

Its still light out and should be for another hour or so, the weather has been unseasonably warm the past few days so I expect the water will be too.

Once I arrive I notice that the water is steaming, which is strange, the weather hasn't been THAT warm, but then I realize it must mean that the lake connects to some sort of natural hot springs, in a sudden burst of excitement I decide I'm long over due for a bath, I haven't been swimming in such a long time and I deeply miss the freedom that open water provides.

I strip off my vest, shirt and pants, leaving my underwear and bra firmly in place, just encase.

As I wash the orc blood out of my clothes the best I can I suddenly become panicked, what if orcs or something else comes by while I'm swimming unprotected? Maybe I should have let Bilbo come with me, I'm not sure how much use he would be though… I strap my thigh sheath back on and place the knife inside, better safe that sorry.

I hang my clothes on a near by branch in the hopes that they will be dry by the time I am finished.

I walk into the water slowly at first, debating on wether this is a good idea, but once the water hits my thighs and the warmth of the water laps against my skin I toss aside all worries and dive in. I swim under water for a while, embracing the peace.

When I surface for air I rub my hands down my neck and chest to try and clean off the blood, it comes off easily in the warm water, I run my hands through my hair to try and detangle the wild mess it has turned into, and clear it of any muck it may have picked up.

Once I feel clean again I float on my back for a while staring at the sky, not thinking, just concentrating on the steady movements of my arms as I push myself around in circles, I let the blissfulness take over, as I close my eyes.

After a while I hear something that doesn't fit in to this peaceful scenery, crunching, why can I hear crunching? Was I clenching my jaw without noticing? Then laughter, nope, that was not me. The distraction causes me to start sinking as I spin around to investigate, with only my head now out of the water I see two figures standing on the shore, but the sun is directly above their heads so I cant make out who or what they are. I sink into the water and dive down and swim to the side in the hopes that when I surface the sun wont be directly in my eyes and I can see who the figures on the shore are.

_I almost call out to her as she dives back under the water, is she mad? Does she want to be killed? How could she be so stupid to come out here on her own and start swimming like nothing could happen to her?_

_I glare at the water, as Kili laughs again, at me this time not her "Relax brother, she's clearly okay maybe a little bit crazy, but nonetheless okay. Actually she might be onto something. The water does look pretty damn good, I'm going to join her." He says as he kicks off his boots. I want to stop him, I want to be the one swimming with her, but I don't know how to act on the situation in front of him._

When I resurface again, I can finally see properly, a mess of brown hair who seems to be struggling with his boots, and a tidier blonde with his arms firmly crossed in front of him, I can't help but to laugh out loud, of course its Kili and Fili, who else would it be? Those two always manage to find me.

I see Fili gesturing with his hands, pointing out to me then back to the woods behind them, and hear Kili laugh and slap Fili on the shoulder before stripping off his own shirt and making his way to the water, I start to paddle towards them to see what the problem is.

As I watch Fili standing on the shore looking a little pissed off, I start to worry, did I do something wrong?

Something erupts from the water right in front of me and splashes water in my face, I let out a yelp and kick out only to realize it was Kili "Damn you! You scared me half to death." I accuse splashing him back.

He laughs and splashes me back before disappearing under the water again, I squeal and try to swim away but he catches my foot and pulls me under the water for a second before swimming underneath me and standing up with my legs placed on his shoulders, I almost loose balance as I am suddenly out of the water and Kili is laughing his head off below me, I cant help but to laugh with him as he walks around in the shallows, shallows for dwarves anyway, the water came up to his shoulders.

"Fili! Come in the water is amazing!" I shout to his rigid figure.

"Good luck with that." Kili mutters.

"What do you mean?"  
"He wont come in, he was mad that you came here on your own and I probably just made it worse by following you."  
"Oh… but I brought a knife with me, I can protect myself."

"I can see that, its right next to my face" he laughs.

"Ops, sorry, I'll just fix that" I lean down to adjust the knife causing Kili to lose his balance and send us both flying forwards.

We come up coughing and spiting out water then start laughing so hard that I tear open my wound again, Kili's eyes widen when he sees blood trailing down my arm.

"Eh, its fine, water makes blood look more dramatic than it is." I assure him. But he's not looking at my arm any more, his gaze sweeps over my body and I realize that I'm not really wearing clothes, trying to break his gaze I laugh, a little more hysterically than I would have liked, and duck under the water again. I swim a little way away from him and resurface and start floating again, I see him do the same and we start slowly paddling back toward the shore, our arms bump together and I shove him playfully.

Once the water becomes to shallow to swim any longer we stand up and start walking toward Fili, it is then that I regret my decision, now that I'm out of the water I'm freezing and I'll bet my clothes are still damp.

I go to where my clothes are hanging as Kili makes his way in the other direction to where he kicked off his clothes.

Upon inspecting my clothes my fears are confirmed, they are still wet, and I've begun to shake. I rub my arm to stop the goose bumps from rising.

"Damn… what the hell do I do now?" I mutter.

"Here, take this." I jump in surprise and turn around to see Fili holding out a shirt to me.

"Where'd you get this?" I ask as I take it off him, and pull it over my head, it comes down to my mid thigh and is still warm.

"Its mine, I told you I wore more layers than you do." He says gruffly while he picks my clothes off the branch and starts to walk back toward camp, I pull on my boots, grab my weapons and follow him "Uhhh, what are you doing?"

"Going to hang these near the fire."

"Oh, uh okay, thanks."

He only grunts in response, I slow my pace and watch him stomp off.

"I think we're in trouble." Kili says as he walks up beside me.

"I think I'd prefer him yell at us. I don't like the silent treatment crap from him. Makes me feel like a child."

"Well I suppose we are in his eyes sometimes," Kili admits "Don't worry, he could never stay mad at us for long."


	7. Chapter 7

**Note- Sorry the last few chapters have been slow, I've been sidetracked trying to draw Ariana, and with no artistic talent it is difficult, anywho.. Reviews would be awesome, so I know if I should keep posting :)**

As I sit by the fire trying to get warm, I comb my fingers through my hair trying to detangle the mess without much success. I watch the fire dance and flicker in front of me wondering why Fili reacted so oddly, a bizarre thought struck me, he couldn't be jealous could he? Kili had acted differently too, but he seemed back to his joking self already. But Fili was not, he sat on the other side of the fire not moving, not talking.

A hand roughly ruffles my hair and I turn around to see Kili running away, his shoulders shaking in laughter.  
I pick up a stone the size of my palm and throw it at him, it hits his leg and hear a small yelp as he turns around confused, "Damn you Kili, I had almost finished detangling my hair, and now I have to start over. Pain in the ass." He chuckles as he walks back over to me holding up his hands as a sign of peace.

"Sorry, but you've been sitting there for ages just playing with your hair, it was boring me. Thought I'd mix things up a little." He grins.

"Yeah well it mightn't take so long if I had some help, or shorter hair."

Kili pulls out a knife, "Well I'm not going to sit there and brush your hair for you, but I can cut it in about 2 seconds flat if you like." He picks up a lock of hair and holds the knife to it, I jump back and try to escape.  
"No! No, no, no. Stay away from my hair!"

"Fine, have it your way. But have fun trying to tame that mess." He sheaths his knife and walks away.

"Urgh. You suck." I mutter. Damn pain in the ass, I run my fingers through my hair a little more forcefully this time, trying to untangle the new knots he had made.

After a few short moments I feel someone pull my hands away from behind me and start to carefully detangle the mess with much more success than I had. Thankful for the help I relax and let them run their fingers through my hair with such a delicate touch. I close my eyes and lean my head back. 

Shortly I can feel them run their fingers down the length of my hair without anything stopping them, their fingers linger for a moment at the bottom of my back before lightly tugging at the top of my hair and I recognise the rhythm of a braid being applied. I could never manage to braid my own hair, I would get frustrated at the loose strays that would never stay in place.

Once I feel a hair tie being put in place, I gently touch my hair to inspect and find no loose ends. Jealous I turn around to see who could have done such a perfect job only to find Fili behind me, he stands up "It was annoying me to see you ripping your hair out like that, its beautiful, you should treat it nicer." He mutters before walking away.  
I stare at his retreating figure unsure what to do, I touch my hair again, how can such a big, rough guy have such a gentle touch?

I want to go after him but I have no idea what I would say, I decide to let him sleep on his emotions and I check on my clothes, which are still damp in most places. I look down at myself and wonder how I must look to everyone. Wearing Fili's shirt that shows an awful lot of leg.

Suddenly self-conscious I pull out my blanket and try to sleep.

I wake up a few hours later and cant figure out why, then I realize the ground is shaking and sit up only to see everyone asleep… I wonder why the shaking hasn't woken anyone up, I place my hand on the ground and lift it back up and stare for a moment, the ground isn't shaking, I am.

I realize in that moment that I'm freezing, my fingers are numb and I have goose bumps all over my arms and legs. I curl into a ball on my side and pull the blanket tightly around myself, I wish it were thicker. I squeeze my eyes shut and will myself to sleep and not wake up sick.

As soon as I almost fall asleep a breeze startles me awake. I clench my jaw to stop my teeth from chattering and try again.

I get startled awake again but not from cold, I feel something warm press up against my back, I look over to see Fili lay down next to me and place his blanket over us, as a reaction I snuggle back into him and he places his arm around me, I almost start laughing at his sudden change of mood.

"Thankyou." I whisper.

"Its only because your teeth are chattering so loud I cant sleep." He mutters.

Good mood gone.

Until he tightens his arm around me, liar.

_I watched her as she slept, she was shaking so hard her that blanket kept slipping off. She clutched it tight around her neck and curled her knees to her chest. I could see her face contort as the wind blew and ruffled her still wet hair, I don't know if it was a good thing that I braided it or not. I close my eyes and try to ignore her pain. I hold my own blanket close to my face and take a deep breath, then I hear her whimper and I'm on my feet before I realize what I'm doing. Her whole body is tensed when I lay down next to her, she's holding her blanket so tight her knuckles have gone white. It pains me to see her like this, I slide my arm under her blanket and across her waist, I pull her close to me, she turns and looks at me "Thankyou." She whispers._

"_Its only because you teeth are chattering so loud I cant sleep." I lie. Her shaking slowly subsides until I can hear her breathing deepen and her body relax. I kiss the back of her neck and close my eyes._

I wake from the noise of dwarves cooking breakfast, it's a sweet sound, I'm starving. I finally feel like I got a decent night sleep, and I can't help but wonder if that had anything to do with Fili. I stretch out and roll over to find the spot behind me empty again. Really? You come and sleep with a girl but don't have the decency to stay over?

I see my clothes still hanging by the fire and I go and try to discreetly put them on without flashing anyone. Feeling proud of myself once I'm fully dressed again, I make my way over to Bofur who is swatting away Bombur's hand from the food.

"Good morning little miss." He smiles when I stop in front of them, Bombur nods to me then pouts at Bofur and sulks away.

"What's the matter with him?" I laugh.

"I wouldn't let him have thirds."

"That's not very nice, why didn't you let him have thirds?"

"Because that would mean you wont be able to have first's" He frowns at the word.

"Oh, we don't want that."

"No, we definitely do not, your scary when you're hungry." Kili interrupts.

I laugh and smack his shoulder.

We move on after breakfast and I feel sad that I didn't have time to have another swim. I'm stuck walking with Kili who keeps picking up stones and twigs and throwing them at me, behind us I see Fili walking with Thorin who keeps gesturing with his hands.

As we make our way through the thick woods I hear something in the distance and freeze. I look up a near by tree then back to Thorin who has made his way to the front of the line "Why have we stopped?" he demands.

"I hear something…" I nod in the direction to our right, "I can probably see what it is from up there." I point up the tree.

Thorin looks at me sceptically, then at the tree, then at me again clearly doubting my abilities.  
Even Kili doesn't look too sure about me going up the tree.

"It may be our only chance to ambush them if it's not friendly, we don't want to be caught unsuspected again do we?" I encourage, "And this tree is much younger and stronger than that last one…" I trail off, not needing to elaborate.

"Okay, here's the plan. You go up as high as you need to, if you can see them you are to count them then hit the tree with the hilt of your sword the amount of times versus how many orcs you see, or what ever they are. We will be listening, if I hit the tree twice, you can take them out with your bow. If I hit the tree once you are to come back down immediately. Understood?" He stares at me intently.

I nod, "Understood."

As I make my way up the tree I can feel how much stronger this one is and have no fears that I will fall this time. I glance back down to my comrades and smile, only few return the smile, the rest look worried.

Always being underestimated. Always having to prove my worth.

Once I reach half way I can see smoke close by, I climb a little higher and can finally see a unusually small pack of orcs, I count 5 but wait a little longer to see if any are scouting, after a few moments of nothing happening I pull out a knife and smack the trunk of the tree 5 times.

While waiting I sheath my knife and wait, moments pass with no response and I look down worried that they didn't hear it, but a few seconds later I hear and feel the tree vibrate once, then again a moment later.

I adjust myself on the tree so I have a steady balance, and ready my bow, I put an arrow in place, draw the sting and take a deep breath, I ready myself, and release the arrow.


	8. Chapter 8

The first arrow goes directly through the first orcs head and out the other side then finds its mark in the next orcs neck, they both drop and I aim, one of the remaining orcs let out a roar so I draw the string back and release, my arrow finding its mark in the orcs open mouth, that should shut him up. The last two orcs have now armed themselves looking back and forward trying to find me, I easily take them out as they run for the protection of the trees.

I admire my work for a moment before putting my bow away and making my way back down the tree, using extra caution, I cant imagine how terribly embarrassing it would be if I fell in front of them all.

Once I'm low enough I leap from a branch and land in a crouch in front of Thorin who is looking at me expectantly, "Job done." I smile at him.

"I thought you knocked five times?" He asks

"I did... Did I do something wrong?"

"I don't know, did you?"

"Okay can someone please explain?" I beg, throwing my hands in the air.

"You signed that there were five orcs," Kili starts.

"Yes there were?"

"But you only shot four arrows, did you miss one?" I notice his hand on the hilt of his sword and I finally realize what was going on.

I laugh with relief "No of course not! I hit two with one arrow." I say proudly.

I see a lot of bushy eyebrows rise in that moment, and I give a little bow and continue in the direction we were going.

Feeling rather proud to catch the dwarves off guard I stride ahead and after a moment hear many heavy footfalls walk after me.

After a mostly uneventful days hike we come across an abandoned farm house, seemingly intact.

A few of us go inside to investigate and find it empty, calling the rest inside Thorin reluctantly decides we will spend the night. As it's too close to nightfall to keep moving.

Thorin sends Fili and myself to find some firewood, nervous to be alone with Fili after his strange behaviour last night I almost don't want to go.

As we're almost out the door I hear someone say "Have fun." In an annoying singsong voice, I turn around to see Bofur wiggling his eyebrows at me. His eyebrows are driving me a little bit mad lately.

We set off through the woods and I start picking up random sticks that look dry enough to burn.

Still unsure on how to act I try to keep quiet.

After we've been walking for a while both our arms are mostly full of wood, mine as much as I can manage with my shoulder still a little tender, I build up enough courage to ask "So are we going to talk about what happened the other night?"

He stops so suddenly in front of me I bump into his back.

"Which night? Last night when you tried to get yourself killed?" He accused.

"Tried to get myself- Wait, what are you talking about? How did I try to get myself killed? Nothing happened last night." I stare in confusion trying to think back.

"Well lets start with you wondering off on your own to that lake, then deciding to go for a swim unarmed-"

"Hey, I wasn't unarmed."

"Oh, I see. So you think you could've defended yourself against a warg with a knife?"

"I checked the surrounding area…"

"Did you? Hm, okay. Did you scour the lake too? Make sure nothing dangerous was in there?" He snaps throwing the wood to the ground.

I feel tears spring to my eyes, he's never yelled at me before and it took me by surprise, not sure how else to react, I decide to yell back.

"What is your problem? Why do you care if I go for a damn swim or what I do, if I recall correctly Kili was the one who came in the lake with me and you just stook on the shore looking pissed off."

"Kili was following you because he too likes to do stupid irresponsible things. I am constantly watching his back and stopping him from doing things like that, but once he sees you doing something nothing else matters, its like you two are competing to see who can get themselves killed first. I expect that behaviour from him, but not you."

"Why are you being such an asshole?" I yell, the tears rolling down my cheeks.

"Because I love you!" he yells.

I drop the wood I was carrying, and my jaw, and just stare.

"Because I love you, and I wouldn't know what to do if anything ever happened to you." He says quietly.

"Fili…"

He strides over to me before I can say anything else, places one hand on my neck and the other on the small of my back, pulling me roughly against his body, he kisses me.

His fingers tangle in my hair and he holds my tight, the kiss doesn't start like our first one did, this kiss is full of bottled up emotions, it is desperate, it is passionate.

I press myself close to his body wanting to be closer to him, he backs me up against a tree with no where to go, I can feel his whole body against mine.

He reaches his hand that is against my back and lifts my shirt slightly, I feel his fingers tremble against my waist then slide to the small of my back again pulling me against him, his hand is warm against my bare skin.

He pulls his head back slightly to look at me, panting slightly, he leans his forehead against my own as we both try to catch our breath.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you." He breathes.

"It's okay, if every argument we have ends like that I think we should fight more often."

He laughs and shakes his head, "How's about we do that part again without the fighting?"

"Like… now?"

"I want to, I really, really do," He looks down sheepishly, "but if we keep going, I don't think I'll be able to stop myself."

I gasp slightly catching on to what he's saying, "I wont mind." I admit.

He groans, "Don't tempt me." He kisses me again, more slowly this time, a sweet, delicate, soft kiss, then pulls away.

Readjusting his coat, he clears his throat awkwardly "You, uh, you should go ahead, I need a second."

Holding back a laugh I pick up my fallen pile of wood and begin to walk ahead feeling like I could use a moment too.

Feeling hot all over I continue my walk back to the little farm house, I can hear the dwarves as I get closer and a familiar foot pattern approaching behind me.

Just as I'm about to enter the clearing at the front of the house, Fili grabs my arm and pulls me back behind a tree "I don't think Thorin would really like it if I did this in front of everyone, so I need to take every chance I get." He kisses me again for a long time against that tree, when he stops and looks at me he laughs.

"What are you laughing at?" I demand, not the best ending to a kiss.

"Your cheeks are bright red, and your hair is all ruffled and half has come out of its braid," He smiles, "I like the rough look."

Smiling like fools we walk up the path and Fili walks ahead, opens the door and bows to me, waiting for me to pass him "Yeah not obvious at all." I laugh at him.


End file.
